Outboard propeller mechanism



March 29, 1960 A. w. wANzl-:R

OUTBOARD PROPELLER MECHANISM Filed Jan. 16, 1959 United States Patent TOOUTBOARD PROPELLER MECHANISM Arthur W. Wanzer, Hingham, Mass., assignorto Murray & Tregurtha, Inc., Quincy, Mass., a corporation oMassachusetts s Application January 16, 1959,Serial No. 787,175

3 Claims. (Cl. 11S-41) The present invention relates to outboardpropeller mechanism for outboard motor boats, barges, scows and thelike.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide an outboardpropeller mechanism including a motor housing and motor of substantialhorsepower rating which is pivotally mounted from a base within the boatclosely adjacent to the keel level to provide a low center of gravity ofsaid motor with a correspondingly greater degreeof stability of boat,and an outboard propeller housing secured to the motor housing formovement with the motor about said pivot between a normal operatingposition and an inoperative substantially inboard position.

It is more specifically an object of the invention to` provide anoutboard propeller mechanism secured rigidly to the motor housing formovement with the motor housing about said pivot comprising a rearwardlyextending section of said propeller housing projecting upwardly over,and rearwardly of the -gunwale of the boat, and a downwardly extendingwater-entering outboard section of said propeller housing, together witha propeller driving mechanism carried within said propeller housingincluding a propeller shaft horizontally disposed in the lower end ofsaid outboard propeller housing section.

A feature of the invention consists in the provision of a pivotalsupport for the motor housing within'the vessel closely adjacent thekeel level, and in the arrangement of the vassociated propeller housingwhich extends upwardly and over the boat gunwale or transom so that thepropeller shaft is disposed at a substantially lower level externally ofthe boat. The arrangement is such that the center of gravity of thepropeller driving assernbly is inboard at a low close-to-the-keel levelwithin the vessel, and is combined with an outboard' drive extendingover the boats transom, which permits the entire assembly to be tiltedreadily to a substantiallyinboard inoperative position.

The propeller drive is taken from the motor which is supported from thebottom of the boat and is preferably of a type having a verticallydisposed cam shaft, through an extension of the motor crank shaft whichextends vertically upwardly above the gunwale level and thence by anysuitable transmission mechanism to the upper end of a verticallydisposed propeller drive shaft mounted in the outboard water-enteringsection of the propeller housing.

In the preferred form of the outboard propeller mechanism shown, thelower portion of the outboard section of the propeller housing isswiveled to turn about a vertical axis and is suitably controlled bysteering connections to provide a steering control effective throughchanges in the direction of thrust thus imparted to the propeller shaftand propeller mounted thereon.

With these and other objects in view as may herein-I after appear, theseveral features Vof the invention consist also in the devices,combinations, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described andclaimed, which together with the advantages to be obtained thereby willbe readily understood by one skilled in the art from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accom- Vpanying drawing inwhich:

Fig. l is a view in right side elevation of an outboard propellermechanism including an outboard motor mounted within the boat, andanoutboard propeller casing with a portion of the casing broken away toillustrate Referring to the drawing, the outboard propeller mech-` anismwhich forms the subject matter of the invention is shown as mountedwithin a boat 10 having a stern` transom 12. The propeller mechanismincluding the motor is supported within the boat on a base consisting oftwo rails 13, 14, which is mounted directly from the keel of the boat.The outboard propeller mechanism shown comprises a power plant having avertical crank,v

shaft 16 with four olf-set crank bearingsv connected respectively withthe pistons of a four cylinder motor generally designated at 18. Thepower plant 18 is supported within a motor casing 20 which is pivotallysupportedl from the base rails 13, 14 on two trunnions 21, 22. The

motor housingZtl has formed integrally therewith a rearwardly extendingpropeller drive housing 23 which extends upwardly and rearwardly of theboat over the transom 12 and is further provided with a downwardlyextending water entering outboard portion 24 which proaxis. outboardpropeller section 27 is provided with a tubular section 32 which extendsupwardly within the housing '24 and is supported for rotation on abearing 34 and onv aV bearing 36 disposed toward the upper end of the.tubula'rf member 32. Steering of the boat is readily effectedA by'mechanism including a worm gear 38 secured to the upper end of thetubular extension 32, and connections therefrom including a worm gearand a steering wheel not here shown which may be of any suitable typesuch as that shown, for example, in my prior patent, No. 2,579,221,dated Dec. 18, 1951. As will be evident from Figsfl and 2 of thedrawings, the drive for the propeller is taken from the motor 18 andvertical crank shaft 16 and an extension shaft 44 which projectsupwardly from the motor 18 substantially above the level of the transom12. The extension shaft 44 is connected to drive the vertically disposedpropeller drive shaft 26 by means of a belt 46 which passes around apulley 48 on the shaft 44 and around a pulley 50 on the propeller driveshaft 26.

The outboard propeller mechanism of the present invention has many ofthe advantages of an inboard PaientedMar. 29, 1960 able for a motormounted in an exposed position on the deck or on the transom or coamingof the boat.

The present construction combines with the advantages, of an inboardmounting, certain additional advantages arising from thefimprovedoutboard propeller organization employed which permits theentire driving assembly for the boat to be contained within a single compact unit having the low center of gravity referred to, which includesa propeller driving mechanism arranged to reach upwardly and over thetransom or gunwale of the boat, and which is readily shifted from thefull' line operative boat propellin-g position of Fig. 1 to theinoperative position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 1 in which theentire outboard propeller mechanism is withdrawn to the low positioninside the hull while the center of gravity of the outboard propellermechanism continues to be maintained ina low, hull stabilizing position.

The invention having been described what is claimed is:

1. An outboard propeller mechanism for power boats, barges, scows andthe like vessels having a gunwale substantially above the water edge, abase support including a horizontally disposed pivot carried within thesaid vessel adjacent the keel level, a motor casing and motor carriedtherein mounted on said baserto turn on said pivot, and having a lowcenter of gravity within said vessel, an outboard propeller housingsecured to the motor housing for movement with the motor housing aboutsaid pivot comprising a section of said propeller housing projectingover and rearwardly of said adjacent portion of the gunwale and adownwardly extending water-entering outboard section of said propellerhousing, and a propeller driving mechanism mounted within said outboardpropeller housing including a horizontally disposed propeller shaft inthe lower end of said outboard propeller housing section.

2. An outboard propeller mechanism for power boats, barges, scows andthe like vessels having a transom with the gunwale edge thereofsubstantially above the water edge, a base support including ahorizontally disposed pivot having its axis parallel to said transomlocated Within the vessel adjacent the keel level of said vessel, amotor casing and a motor carried therein'mounted on said base to turn onsaid pivot and having a low center of gravity within said vessel, apropeller housing Vsecured rigidly to the motor housing for movementwith the motorhousin'g about said pivot between operating andinoperative positions comprising a rearwardly extending section of saidpropeller housing projecting over and rearwardly of the gunwale of saidtransom, and a downwardly` extending water-entering outboard section ofsaid propeller housing, a propeller driving mechanism mounted withinsaid outboard propeller housing including a horizontally disposedpropeller shaft in the lower end of said outboard propeller housing,driving connections from the motor to said propeller shaft comprising avertically disposed power take-otf drive shaft operatively connectedwith said motor within said vessel, a vertically disposed outboardpropeller drive shaft supported within the outboard vertical section ofsaid propeller housing, a driving connection housed within saidrearwardly extending section of the propeller housing connecting saidtake-off shaft to drive said vertical propeller drive shaft, andsteering mechanism comprising means for supporting said outboard sectionof said propeller housing to turn about a vertical axis with relation tosaid rearwardly extending section of said propeller housing for changingthe direction of thrust imparted to the propeller shaft and propellermounted thereon.

3. An outboard propeller mechanism for power boats, barges, scows andlike vessels having a transom with the gunwale edge thereofsubstantially above water level, which comprises with a base supportincluding a horizontally disposed pivot having its axis parallel to saidtransom and located within the vessel adjacent the keel level of saidvessel, a motor casing and a motor carried therein mounted on said baseto turn on said pivot and having a low center of gravity within saidvessel, said motor having a crank shaft with its rotational axisdisposed vertically for the operating position of said motor, apropeller housing secured rigidly to the motor housing for movement withthe motor housing about said pivot between operating and inoperativepositions comprising. a rearwardly extending section of said propellerhousing projecting over and rearwardly of the gunwale of. saidy transom,and a downwardly extending water-entering outboard section of saidpropeller housing, a horizontally disposed propeller shaft carried inthe lower portion of said propeller housing, driving connections fromthe motor to said propeller shaft comprising a vertically disposed powerextension drive shaft operatively connected with said crank shaft withinsaid vessel and of a length to project above the gunwale of saidtransom, a vertically disposed outboard propeller drive shaft supportedwithin the outboard vertical section of said propeller housingprojectingabove said gunwale and at its lower end connected with saidpropeller shaft, and a belt and pulley drive connection between saidtake-oli shaft and said vertical propeller drive shaft housed withinsaid rearwardly extending section of said propeller housing.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,034,987 Ducassou Aug. 6, 1912 1,735,660 Svendsen et al Nov. 12, 1929UNITED STATES PATENT oFTIeE CERTIFICATION OF CORRECTION Patent NOI930,342 March 29, 1%@

Arthur We Wanzer It is hereby Certified that error appears in the abovenumbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patentshould read as corrected below'.

Column I, line 24, after "of"Y second occurrence,

insert the column 3, lines 2l and 89, after "edge,", each occurrence,insert comprising Signed and sealed this 13th day of June 1961n (SEAL)Attest:

ERNEST W. SWIDER Attesting Officer DAVID L. LADD Commissioner of Patents

